Reading: Amos 8:4-6.9-12; Ps. 119; Matt. 9:9-13
Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia
HOW ARE YOU RESPONDING TO GOD’S CALL FOR REPENTANCE?
There is no doubt that Jesus had been calling people from different works of life to be part of his mission, but today’s call and choice of Matthew a man identified with sinners because of his work as a tax collector, was quite strange to some people. Little wonder in our Gospel passage today after Jesus had called Matthew to follow him, he had a dinner in his house and while at the dinner, it happened that a number of tax collectors and sinners came to sit at the table with Jesus and his disciples. This is because to follow Jesus, Matthew needs to abandon his lucrative job, knowing that he can never regain it. Also, he needs to cut himself off from his old network of friends.
So, it seems likely that, in a spirit of joy, Matthew invites Jesus and his disciples to a great feast at his house. But the Pharisees felt bad and offended about Jesus sharing a meal with “sinners”, so they complained to his disciples saying: “Why does your master eat with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard this he replied, “It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. Go and learn the meaning of the words: I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.”
Here we heard the inner most desire of Jesus for sinful humanity in need of salvation. Because the call of Matthew is like the call of each of us, a choice that demonstrates Jesus’ desire for sinners to repent. For all he desires is mercy and not sacrifices, repentance and not pride. Jesus is calling us to repentance, he is inviting us to make a fundamental choice for God just like St Matthew, who though sinner, rose up and followed Jesus at his call for repentance.
Therefore, we too are to respond to this invitation without delay, so that we will not be like the people of Israel in our first reading today, who failed to listen to God’s words and warnings. Thus we heard the Lord saying: see the days when I will bring famine on the country, a famine not of bread, a drought not of water, but of hearing the word of the Lord. They will stagger from sea to sea, wander from north to east, seeking the word of the Lord and failing to find it
Dear friends, how are we responding to God’s call to repentance? As Christians who are called to follow the Lord, what is our attitude towards notorious and public sinners? How are we relating with those we judge to be sinners? What efforts are we making to convert sinners? Today, we are called to let St. Matthew be an inspiration and hope for every one of us. Let him be an example that will remind us that there is no one beyond the reach of God’s mercy and love. For he is capable of transforming our ugly ways of life into a glorious instrument for human salvation. Remember, Jesus desires mercy and not sacrifice and we are all invited to follow him along the way of salvation and not to condemn or judge anyone.
LET US PRAY: Lord God, despite our sinfulness, you called and chose us to be instrument of your salvation to all humanity. As we learn for St. Matthew, give us the grace to make good choices that will help us to respond positively to your call for repentance and evangelization. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful day.
